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Oh yeah, and also being incredibly smart.
Voila: With that, the shows first breakout star was born.
(Contestants were only given unlimited wins in 2003, just beforethe reign of Ken Jennings.)
And now, hes back to What is?
his way to potential glory once more.
I cant see any end toJeopardy!.Its going to go on forever, he says.
All divisions of American society loveJeopardy!.
I kind of view you as a forefather ofJeopardy!.
I think everybody whos been on the show says the same thing.
Its just a lot of fun its a great experience to be up there whether you win or lose.
Nobody will turn it down unless theyre in the hospital.
Its not about the money.
Well, once youve won and got some money, its easy to say that.
Its about the competition.
Its a great group of people.
We all have similar personalities, as you could imagine.
When you look at the show in 2024, is it still recognizable from 1985?
What have you observed about its evolution?The actual game is almost unchanged.
Theres a lot of tradition, consistency, and continuation on howJeopardy!works.
The big change was when they allowed an unlimited number of wins, which created the Ken Jennings phenomenon.
And now Ken is standing where Alex is.
Thats a change, but nobody lives forever, and that was inevitable.
They were concerned about the possibility of creating personalities who would become bigger than the game itself.
It was a big gamble raising the five-game limit.
Its proved to be one of the ways the show has managed to adapt.
In a way, these were kind of the first reality programs.
You had real people up there with real names.
It wasnt just Bob.
You knew their full name, profession, and they would come back for the Tournament of Champions.
The whole experience is much more tied into the personalities.
Thats a risk the show has to take.
Apart from that, the show is the same as its always been.
Its clear that theres a huge advantage to the returning champions.
Its almost surprising we havent had more of these super-champions.
But then when I found out Id been selected, I started to analyze it as best I could.
Remember, it was a new show at the time.
You didnt have an enormous database, like we have now, of questions and answers.
I tried to analyze the areas that come up most frequently and what could potentially be studied.
And then look at the possible strategies.
That was the one that came to mind.
It was a friend at law school who suggested it.
When I got to the show on the stage, I could see the physical advantage of it.
When you name the category and amount, everybody has to look for it.
But you know where youre looking.
That half-second advantage makes a big difference.
Now the balance has been turned into a tool for searching for Daily Doubles.
I didnt see the Daily Double as a great opportunity.
Its a risk more than anything else.
James Holzhauer is the prime example of that.
Some of these categories are written so that you better start from the top.
You have to be in a very dominant position so you can use this.
People sitting at home might find it confusing.
You see people psychologically give up.
Youll see other people claw back into the competition.
And it all happens in a very short period of time.
I feel like every prominentJeopardy!player has at least one great Alex story.
He was a wizard of odds.
He wasnt this avuncular figure that everybody respected.
He was a game-show host.
Over the years, my impression of Alex was that I realized what an intelligent person he was.
He genuinely cared about the contestants and wanted to see people do well.
He was a remarkable person.
you’ve got the option to see how he turnedJeopardy!into this institution for the whole country.
Nobody knew what his politics were.
He never expressed his opinion on anything.
He maintained his dignity.
Were you surprised by the reaction toJames Holzhauers historic runand the strategy he employed?
It was an amazing combination.
But look, the top money winner of all time is Brad Rutter.
He doesnt seem to have a particular strategy or anything.
Hes just really good.
People have different approaches, and theres no one-size-fits-all method.
The people in the Invitational tournament are all worthy opponents.
I have to say,Sam Buttrey is a great guyand I had a fantastic time talking with him.
Hes such an affable person.
I have almost 40 more years of things to learn and know about.
Who can keep up with all this stuff?
New planets, new elements, new countries, new music, and thousands of television shows?
To compete against younger people is getting harder for me.
They know things I dont.
But its still a great experience to put yourself up against these people.
Im waiting for them to invite me again and again and again.
Ill keep going to that studio until Im too old to travel.
